Control channel monitoring enhancements

Abstract

A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, is described, which skips a certain number of control channel monitoring occasions, MOs, like physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, MOs, or a physical sidelink control channel, PSCCH, MOs, in accordance with a certain control channel MO skipping pattern.

1 . A user device, UE, for a wireless communication system,
 wherein the UE is to skip a certain number of control channel monitoring occasions, MOs, like physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, MOs, or a physical sidelink control channel, PSCCH, MOs,   wherein, among the channel monitoring occasions to be skipped, the UE is to determine one or more exceptional control channel MOs which are not to be skipped, and the UE is not to skip the one or more exceptional control channel MOs,   wherein the UE is configured or preconfigured, e.g., by a Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling, with one or more rules for determining a MO as an exceptional MO, and/or wherein the one or more rules for determining a MO as an exceptional MO are fixed in a specification, and   wherein the one or more rules may comprise one or more of the following:
 the MO is associated with an ongoing transmission or retransmission, 
 the MO is associated with ongoing periodic transmissions, e.g., SPS, 
 the MO is associated with a previous transmission of a packet for which a reply is expected, 
 the MO comprises a pre-emption signaling, e.g., when a plurality of transmissions are planned, 
 the MO comprises one or more CSI reports, e.g., for the SL, 
 the MO uses certain resources for a high priority or emergency signaling, 
 the MO is associated with pre-reserved transmissions, 
 the MO comprises a common search space. 
   
     
     
         2 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is to skip the control channel MOs responsive to a signaling or responsive to a certain criterion. 
     
     
         3 . The user device, UE, of  claim 2 , wherein the certain criterion comprises one or more of the following:
 a battery status of the UE, e.g., a battery charge status is below a configured or preconfigured threshold,   a state of the device,   a channel occupancy or a channel busy ratio, CBR,   a geo location or zone within which the UE is located,   a physical speed of a UE, e.g., a vehicular UE,   whether the UE is located indoors or outdoors,   whether the UE is connected to the wireless communication system directly or via a relay,   a pathloss, like a certain SNR, on a communication link,   a type or capability of the UE,   detecting that no control is transmitted.   
     
     
         4 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein, when skipping the k control channel MOs, the UE is
 not to count the one or more exceptional control channel MOs so that k control channel MOs are skipped, or   to count the one or more exceptional control channel MOs not skipped so that less than k control channel MOs are skipped.   
     
     
         5 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is to determine a control channel MO to be an exceptional control channel MO, dependent on a type or format of Downlink Control Information, DCI, or dependent on a type of format of Sidelink Control Information, SCI, associated to a search space that is part of a control channel MO. 
     
     
         6 . The user device, UE, of  claim 5 , wherein one or more of the following types or formats of DCIs cause a control channel MO to be determined as an exceptional control channel MO:
 a DCI comprising a Downlink Feedback Indicator, DFI,   a DCI comprising a Slot Format Indicator, SFI,   a DCI comprising a Preemption Indication or Cancelation Indication,   a DCI comprising an Availability Indicator,   a wake-up DCI,   a DCI for an activation or deactivation of a ConfiguredGrant, CG,   a DCI for an activation or deactivation of a Semi-Persistent Scheduling, SPS.   
     
     
         7 . The user device, UE, of  claim 6 , wherein, in case the UE is to perform up to K repetitions of a transmission of a Transport Block, TB, the UE is to determine an MO as an exceptional MO if the MO comprises a search space associated with a DCI comprising the DFI so as to allow the UE, responsive to receiving an acknowledgement, ACK, to stop repeating the transmission of the TB before reaching the K repetitions. 
     
     
         8 . The user device, UE, of  claim 7 , wherein the UE is to skip the exceptional MO with the DCI comprising the DFI only if a k repetition transmission is currently performed. 
     
     
         9 . The user device, UE, of  claim 6 , wherein the UE is to determine an MO as an exceptional MO if the MO comprises a search space associated with a DCI comprising a SFI and if one or more of the following conditions are is true:
 an uplink, UL, grant or a downlink, DL, assignment of resources is affected by the SFI,   the control channel MO is potentially affected by the SFI,   a configured grant, CG, is potentially affected by the SFI.   
     
     
         10 . The user device, UE, of  claim 6 , wherein, in case of an ongoing communication, like a physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, reception or a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, transmission or a physical sidelink shared channel, PSSCH, reception or transmission, the UE is to determine a certain MO as an exceptional MO if the UE expects to receive a Preemption Indication or a Cancelation Indication in the certain MO. 
     
     
         11 . The user device, UE, of  claim 5 , wherein one or more of the following types or formats of SCIs cause a control channel MO to be determined as an exceptional control channel MO:
 a SCI comprising a priority field, where the priority is above or below a configured or preconfigured threshold,   a SCI comprising a Beta offset indicator, where the offset is above or below a configured or preconfigured threshold,   a SCI comprising a HARQ feedback enabled/disabled indicator.   
     
     
         12 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is to monitor in an exceptional MO
 all search spaces, or   only the common search spaces, or   only the search spaces or DCI types or SCI types or formats that caused the UE to determine this MO as an exceptional control channel MO.   
     
     
         13 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is to support a communication with one or more further UEs of the wireless communication network over a sidelink, SL, and
 wherein the UE is to skip
 only SL-related control channel MOs, or 
 only Uu-related control channel MOs, or 
 both SL-related control channel MOs and Uu-related control channel MOs. 
   
     
     
         14 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein, for causing the UE to skip the one or more upcoming control channel MOs, the UE is to receive a control message, like a DCI from a base station, indicating to skip the next k PDCCH MOs or PSCCH MOs. 
     
     
         15 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured with one or more default Search Space Groups, SSGs, carrying control information and with one or more empty SSGs, and
 wherein, for causing the UE to skip the one or more upcoming control channel MOs, the UE is to receive a signaling, e.g., from a base station, to switch to an empty SSG, and, after a certain time period, like an expiry of an inactivity timer, the UE is to switch back to a default SSG.   
     
     
         16 . The user device, UE, of  claim 1 , wherein the UE comprise one or more of a power-limited UE, or a hand-held UE, like a UE used by a pedestrian, and referred to as a Vulnerable Road User, VRU, or a Pedestrian UE, P-UE, or an on-body or hand-held UE used by public safety personnel and first responders, and referred to as Public safety UE, PS-UE, or an IoT UE, e.g., a sensor, an actuator or a UE provided in a campus network to carry out repetitive tasks and needing input from a gateway node at periodic intervals, or a mobile terminal, or a stationary terminal, or a cellular IoT-UE, or a vehicular UE, or a vehicular group leader (GL) UE, or an IoT or narrowband IoT, NB-IoT, device, or a ground based vehicle, or an aerial vehicle, or a drone, or a moving base station, or road side unit (RSU), or a building, or any other item or device provided with network connectivity enabling the item/device to communicate using the wireless communication network, e.g., a sensor or actuator, or any other item or device provided with network connectivity enabling the item/device to communicate using a sidelink the wireless communication network, e.g., a sensor or actuator, or any sidelink capable network entity. 
     
     
         17 . A wireless communication system, comprising
 one or more user devices, UEs, of  claim 1 , and   a base station for serving the one or more, UEs,   wherein the base station is to support a communication of the UEs over the Uu interface and over a sidelink, SL, and   wherein the BS is to configure or preconfigure a UE to skip
 only SL-related control channel MOs, or 
 only Uu-related control channel MOs, or 
 both SL-related control channel MOs and Uu-related control channel MOs. 
   
     
     
         18 . A method for operating a user device, UE, for a wireless communication system, wherein the UE is to skip a certain number of control channel monitoring occasions, MOs, like physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, MOs, or a physical sidelink control channel, PSCCH, MOs, the method comprising:
 determining which are not to be skipped one or more exceptional control channel MOs which are not to be skipped, and   not skipping the one or more exceptional control channel MOs,   wherein the UE is configured or preconfigured, e.g., by a Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling, with one or more rules for determining a MO as an exceptional MO, and/or wherein the one or more rules for determining a MO as an exceptional MO are fixed in a specification, and   wherein the one or more rules may include one or more of the following:
 the MO is associated with an ongoing transmission or retransmission, 
 the MO is associated with ongoing periodic transmissions, e.g., SPS, 
 the MO is associated with a previous transmission of a packet for which a reply is expected, 
 the MO comprises a pre-emption signaling, e.g., when a plurality of transmissions are planned, 
 the MO comprises one or more CSI reports, e.g., for the SL, 
 the MO uses certain resources for a high priority or emergency signaling, 
 the MO is associated with pre-reserved transmissions, 
 the MO comprises a common search space.